11th Mar 2019
How to knitting: Aran knitting stitches and patterns
By Máirín Ní Dhonncha
The Aran sweater had its status as an icon reinforced recently, when it was chosen to appear in the Musem of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, alongside other iconic clothing items of the 20th Century such as the biker jacket, the Breton shirt and the Birkin bag.
The jumper in question was chosen from the National Musuem of Ireland – Country Life, and dates from the 1940s. It has many elements associated with Aran jumpers, such as various cable patterns arranged with a wider central panel, and narrower patterns bordering, and quite a boxy shape.
However, it differs substantially from what would be viewed as typical of the tradition in having different stitch patterns on the front and back (I have included a link so you can look at this lovely jumper yourself). Another reason for you to mix and match Aran patterns as you choose, should you decide to create your own design!
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A selection of our Aran knit kits:
Shannon Aran Beanie
Casey Aran Cabled Scarf
Kathleen Aran Blanket
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Many of the Aran cable patterns are described as being symbolic of various themes in the lives of islanders, or of being inspired by everyday life. It is best to treat these as being symbolic in a light sense; they are not heavily imbued with meaning, but can be viewed as referring to certain constants in island life.
The rope cable is one of the most commonly used elements:
It can be said to represent ropes used in fishing or farm work. (This particular example has each cable worked over 4 stitches, with 4 purl stitches between the cables).
The diamond features strongly in Aran knitting too:
These are usually thought to resemble the little patchwork fields on the Aran Islands; they can be left with a plain background, but often feature a new texture, such as moss/seed stitch, garter stitch, or a nice round bobble, said to represent a blackberry!
Perhaps the resemblance to fields is more pronounced when several diamonds are worked together, such as are featured here:
The examples pictured are filled with seed stitch (more commonly known as moss stitch in Ireland), and garter stitch. The cable running along the side is often referred to nowadays as a Hugs and Kisses cable (looking like little Xs and Os), but would be more likely to represent a strong chain, made of many links. This is worked over 8 stitches, usually all in stocking stitch/stockinette.
A field of smaller diamonds looks more like either a fisherman’s net, or even the criss-cross stone walls which are such a feature of the Aran Islands.
In the example shown here, the cables cross each other Left over Right at one junction, and Right over Left at the next.
It can be interesting to see how different this pattern looks worked in a non-traditional yarn. I used a self-striping grey yarn (Drops Big Delight) last year to knit up a beanie hat using this pattern, and I think the resemblance to the stone walls was striking!
I hope you enjoyed these little snippets of Aran patterns! There are many excellent stitch dictionaries which feature so many more, and online, Pinterest can be a great resource (e.g. Cables Do What Now?)
Remember to not get too caught up in heavy symbolism, but rather judge what works best for you and your take on Aran knitting!
All photos and text: Máirín Ní Dhonncha
www.aranaccessories.net
Learn more about Mairin and view her designs
The Aran sweater had its status as an icon reinforced recently, when it was chosen to appear in the Musem of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, alongside other iconic clothing items of the 20th Century such as the biker jacket, the Breton shirt and the Birkin bag.
The jumper in question was chosen from the National Musuem of Ireland – Country Life, and dates from the 1940s. It has many elements associated with Aran jumpers, such as various cable patterns arranged with a wider central panel, and narrower patterns bordering, and quite a boxy shape.
However, it differs substantially from what would be viewed as typical of the tradition in having different stitch patterns on the front and back (I have included a link so you can look at this lovely jumper yourself). Another reason for you to mix and match Aran patterns as you choose, should you decide to create your own design!
----------
A selection of our Aran knit kits:
Shannon Aran Beanie
Casey Aran Cabled Scarf
Kathleen Aran Blanket
----------
Many of the Aran cable patterns are described as being symbolic of various themes in the lives of islanders, or of being inspired by everyday life. It is best to treat these as being symbolic in a light sense; they are not heavily imbued with meaning, but can be viewed as referring to certain constants in island life.
The rope cable is one of the most commonly used elements:
It can be said to represent ropes used in fishing or farm work. (This particular example has each cable worked over 4 stitches, with 4 purl stitches between the cables).
The diamond features strongly in Aran knitting too:
These are usually thought to resemble the little patchwork fields on the Aran Islands; they can be left with a plain background, but often feature a new texture, such as moss/seed stitch, garter stitch, or a nice round bobble, said to represent a blackberry!
Perhaps the resemblance to fields is more pronounced when several diamonds are worked together, such as are featured here:
The examples pictured are filled with seed stitch (more commonly known as moss stitch in Ireland), and garter stitch. The cable running along the side is often referred to nowadays as a Hugs and Kisses cable (looking like little Xs and Os), but would be more likely to represent a strong chain, made of many links. This is worked over 8 stitches, usually all in stocking stitch/stockinette.
A field of smaller diamonds looks more like either a fisherman’s net, or even the criss-cross stone walls which are such a feature of the Aran Islands.
In the example shown here, the cables cross each other Left over Right at one junction, and Right over Left at the next.It can be interesting to see how different this pattern looks worked in a non-traditional yarn. I used a self-striping grey yarn (Drops Big Delight) last year to knit up a beanie hat using this pattern, and I think the resemblance to the stone walls was striking!
I hope you enjoyed these little snippets of Aran patterns! There are many excellent stitch dictionaries which feature so many more, and online, Pinterest can be a great resource (e.g. Cables Do What Now?)
Remember to not get too caught up in heavy symbolism, but rather judge what works best for you and your take on Aran knitting!
All photos and text: Máirín Ní Dhonncha
www.aranaccessories.net
Learn more about Mairin and view her designs